GPL Final Day Preview: Relegation Spots To Be Decided

The Ghana Premier League reaches match day 30 this weekend with the relegation dogfight being the centre of all the attraction and attention. With the last match to end the premier league for the 2016/2017 season, eight teams face the scare of relegation which makes match day 30 a fierce contest.

With the exception of Bolga All-Stars who already know their status as the first team to be relegated, Great Olympics, Tema Youth, Liberty Professional, Bechem United, Ashanti Gold, Inter Allies, Berekum Chelsea and Elmina Sharks are all not safe as we go into the last match day in the season.

Who stays up, who exists on the survival Sunday.

Now here is a wrap of how things could go in this relegation dogfight.

Liberty Professional are no new side to appear in the bottom of the league because they’ve been flirting with relegation for the past four season consecutively. They will be playing Kumasi Asante Kotoko on the final match day and are however likely to stay in the Ghana Premier League with just two points above the relegation battle. They have an advantage, however; because the Kumasi based side who have already secured a spot in the top four position will be looking to rest some of their players for their F.A cup final encounter with Hearts of Oak in Tamale.

Olympics who are likely to be relegated after the final match day will be playing against Bechem United who are also fighting relegation but stands a better chance of staying in the Ghana Premier League. Olympics who lie 15^th on the table with 36 points and a 4 goal deficit will have to win by a large margin. However, Olympic will have to rely on results in other matches, thus either Liberty loses and they win by a 5 goal margin which is highly impossible but highly possible for them to be relegated.

Berekum Chelsea, having won the league in 2011 have not been able to live up to the same standards and they will be locking horns with Tema Youth, a side who is also battling relegation. Tema youth find themselves in a worrying situation having left the relegation zone at some point but failed to maintain their form in the league. The Tema based side has to also wait on other results in the various Centers to confirm their stay in the league if they win away to Berekum which isn’t highly possible because this is a league where home teams strive to win their last matches especially when the team is in the relegation battle. They are likely to be relegated alongside Bolga All-Stars.

Elmina sharks will be playing at home as they welcome Wa All-Stars who have nothing to lose having secured a place in the top four spot. The Elmina side has a very good record when it comes to home matches having won the majority of their home matches and is likely to win in order to book their place in the next premier league.

Confirmed champions of the league will be hosting another team fighting to avoid relegation, Ashanti Gold. Aduana stars won’t be playing with any seriousness since they are not in contention for the title anymore as they won it last weekend. They have nothing to lose. The Obuasi side will travel to Dormaa and will be hoping to win and are very likely to stay in the league.

Let’s look at the Accra based clubs as Inter allies and Accra Hearts of Oak lock horns on the final match day as Frank Nuttall side welcomes the side fighting relegation at the Accra Sports Stadium. With third place already secured, Frank Nuttall and his team will be looking to move to the second position if WAFA fails to win their last match. With their target being the top four and already securing that, it will be prudent for their Coach to rest some of his players for their crucial encounter against their rivals in the F.A cup finals in Tamale, a trophy they last won in the year 2000.

With anxiety and panic setting in from the camp of clubs who are found in the relegation dogfight, and with the issue of paying bribes to referees to help some clubs remain in the league, let’s see how it pans out after the final whistle is blown across the various league centres.